Innumerable amounts of opinions are floating around the internet about how to finally achieve long term, sustainable weight loss.

A common formula that you read about and hear from health experts is called the 80/20 Rule, which says that 80% of your weight loss success will come from your diet and 20% will come from exercise.

However, this completely ignores the most important factor in weight loss.

The following five facts reveal the most critical factor when it comes to losing weight and keeping it off long term.

FACT #1 – Around 70% of People Who Lose Weight End Up Gaining It Back.

In a study(1) of weight-loss patterns in over 177,000 people it was found that after two years, around 70% of the participants regained their weight back.

Many other studies have corroborated this fact. Dr. Joanna Huang, PharmD, the lead research scientist in this study said, “Many patients regain weight after their initial loss; and even after a period of weight loss, most people become ‘cyclers’ (i.e. yo-yo dieters) who regain weight or experience inconsistent losses and gains.”

FACT #2 – To Maintain The Weight You’ve Lost Requires You To Create Healthy Habits.

In a study(2) by researchers from Australia found that habit-based weight-loss interventions resulted in better weight-loss maintenance over a 12 month period.

This is no surprise. Nearly every weight loss expert on the planet will tell you that the only truly sustainable way to lose weight, get healthier, and maintain your slim body is to change your habits.

FACT #3 – To Create Healthy Habits You Have To Repeat Healthy Behaviors Over and Over Again Until They Become Habits.

Dr. Wendy Wood, a psychology researcher stated that, “Habits emerge through associative learning. “We find patterns of behavior that allow us to reach goals. We repeat what works, and when actions are repeated in a stable context, we form associations between cues and response.

Repetition is key. Studies(3) have shown it can take anywhere from 15 days to 254 days to truly form a new habit.”

Basically, what Dr. Wood is saying is that to create habits, you have to repeat the behavior that you want to turn into habit many times.

Simple habits can be formed within 15 – 60 days. More complex habits require more time for greater repetition. Complex habits can take up to or more than a year to establish.

FACT #4 – The Average Person Does Not Have Enough Sheer Willpower To Repeat Healthy Behaviors Long Enough To Create A Habit.

Research(4) has shown 92% of those who make New Years resolutions give up after just a few months.

This dismal statistic is a result of the immense amount of sheer willpower required to repeat healthy behaviors.

For the average person, it’s just too hard to repeat a new health related behavior long enough for it to become a habit.

Willpower Systems™ are small processes and systems that make it easier to perform a healthy behavior that you do not want to do, when you need to do it.

Willpower Systems make it much easier to repeat a healthy behavior, which helps you to repeat that behavior over and over again.

Willpower Systems™ make healthy behaviors easier to repeat because they significantly reduce the amount of sheer willpower needed to repeat the behaviors.

I wrote a book titled, “The Willpower Secret” that explains in more detail how Willpower Systems™ are the secret key to can finally giving you the willpower you need to create long term healthy habits in your life.

SCIENTIFIC REFERENCES

1. Joanna Huang, PharmD, senior manager of health economics and outcomes research at Novo Nordisk Inc. in Plainsboro, New Jersey – Science Daily: “Most people cycle and regain weight, and those who lose most are most likely to keep it off” https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/04/160402112741.htm